Tunisia as hosts!

Feb 08, 2004

<b>Monday Sport Opinion</b><br><br>HOSTING the African Nations Cup a year after confirming their bid to host the 2010 World Cup should have provided a great opportunity for Tunisia to showcase their potential.

Monday Sport Opinion

HOSTING the African Nations Cup a year after confirming their bid to host the 2010 World Cup should have provided a great opportunity for Tunisia to showcase their potential.

Yet two weeks into the continental showpiece, all viewers have been treated to are magnificent stadia and little else to galvanise Tunisia’s credentials.

Protests against Tunisia’s unsporting conduct and empty stadia when the hosts aren’t playing could hardly be classified as defining ingredients in a World Cup host-winning recipe.

Tunisia’s sore-losers complex might prove yet another stumbling block in their ambition to host the global event. This win-at-all-costs mentality, a largely North African syndrome, has seen Tunisia try every trick in the book to gain undue advantage over its rivals.

The Senegal-Tunisia game climaxed into a farce mainly because host players, officials and ball boys wound up the Teranga Lions through their laughable time-wasting tactics. Senegal though, must take heavy criticism for their role in the entire circus parade.

Such scenes, if re-enacted in the latter stages of the Nations Cup, will leave many pondering the imponderable: Is Africa ready to host the World Cup?

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